The following is a letter to the editor that was sent to the Kalamazoo Gazette.

JOHN E. DAVIS, JR./Hopkins

Because Governor Snyder opened vast tracts of public land to hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas (including in Allegan and Barry counties), he also should take steps to avoid water contamination from production as has occurred in other states. Instead, he's not requiring commonsense measures such as baseline water analysis before fracturing deep rock formations begins. This sets up the defense for the companies, used with great success elsewhere, that carcinogens were in the water before they started.

Our public lands deserve better stewardship than the governor, the legislature and their agencies are delivering. We need a moratorium in place for sufficient time to address these willful oversights before irreparable damage occurs here in Michigan too.